help needed..!!

[aasiaafzal]

hey guys,
im new to this forum, as well as to the parrot world, so i seriously need the guidance of many experts here on many matters..i have recently gotten myself a CAG..named him 'jazz'.roughly 6 to 8 months old...gender still unknown....though i plan to get it DNA sexed as soon as the oppurtunity arises...before this bird, i kept a few birds butcouldnt keep them for very long...

so the thing is that jazz is not very aggressive, but not very friendly either...he sometimes tries to bite my finger, if i approach him quickly, though after some gentle patting, n talking, he stops...i believe he is much improving...now mostly he bites, not because of aggression but out of curiosity...what should i do to avoid this biting habit? also he doesnt step up on my finger, n if i forcibly take him on my hand, this biting thing worsens....n in those times, he actually bites my fingers quite sharply....n if given a chance, he prefers to go back on his perch, rather than spending time with me....in the initial few days, it was impossible to get him on my finger, i tried using that clicker condition n target conditioning with him too, but he soon lost interest...now i used another approach, just when i knew he was hungry, kept his food at a small distance in the air, so that he wud eventually have to come to my finger to reach there (as he cant fly, wings were clipped by the pet shop owner), n he obliged....i put him back again n tried doing the same without food, n he didnt budge at all...so what do u guys suggest? am i being impatient...or what?
overall i think he has a good temperament, has been with me only for a week or so, n he has adjusted to all the changes, quite well..


my second issue is when should i clip his nails?? they seem quite large to me, today i just tried clipping one of his nail, he gave a loud cry...made me a lot apprehensive, if it was painful for him, or he just didnt like it?
my 3rd question is that i just keep him in the cage only when there is no one to watch over him, n at night, otherwise he just sits on the perch above his cage..n if i dont get him out, he is quite mad at me...as soon as he comes out, he spends most of his day peacefully at the perch...Being clipped, he just makes short flights, landing on the carpet, n then walking back over to the perch,i read somewhere that little but personal time out of the cage is better than, more time, without personal touch,..so do u guys think, i should start keeping him inside the cage more??

sorry for such a long post...but i have been reading most of the posts in this forum, love this plat form, where i can talk about my absurd n silly concerns...otherwise at home, everyone laughs at me:)

[Andromeda]

hey guys,
im new to this forum, as well as to the parrot world, so i seriously need the guidance of many experts here on many matters..i have recently gotten myself a CAG..

Welcome to the forum. I'm going to answer you questions as honestly as possible so please don't misunderstand because some of it may come across as harsh but I want to be straightforward with you for the sake of both you and your CAG.

You are new to the parrot world, and you chose a CAG. That was... Not really a great decision, to put it lightly. CAGs live a very long time and are some of the most difficult birds to keep due to the fact that they are prone to developing severe behavioral problems (feather plucking, screaming, aggression) if not raised or handled properly. The "mistakes" you can get away with on a smaller parrot will absolutely break a CAG.

That being said, what's done is done and the good news is that you are here, you are trying to educate yourself, and that's what's important now.

overall i think he has a good temperament, has been with me only for a week or so

You need to slow waaaaaaaaaay down. You are pushing your bird too far, too fast. Your bird will live a long time and is still young. You have a long time to develop a relationship.

so the thing is that jazz is not very aggressive, but not very friendly either...he sometimes tries to bite my finger, if i approach him quickly

A bird is not like a dog. It's a "prey" animal and you have to treat it as such. What I mean by that is trust is EARNED, not just given. You need to earn your bird's trust and prove to it that you're not a threat.

Never approach your bird quickly. As I said, it's a "prey" animal so any kind of quick movement or approach is going to startle it and yes, it will bite (if clipped, a flighted bird's first reaction is to fly away, not to bite).

also he doesnt step up on my finger, n if i forcibly take him on my hand, this biting thing worsens....n in those times, he actually bites my fingers quite sharply....

This is one of the biggest (and most common) mistakes people make with a bird. Asserting dominance over a bird, which is what you are doing (FORCING it to step up), will absolutely ruin your relationship and will also cause it to hate hands. A clipped bird that hates hands very quickly learns to bite hands, and CAGs have big beaks and can inflict serious injury.

NEVER try to dominate a bird, meaning never force your will upon it. Never force it to do something it doesn't want to do. If you approach your bird and it doesn't want to step up, leave it alone and try again in a few minutes.

That being said, your bird is young and has only been with you for a week so it has no clue how to step up and is probably very confused about why you are shoving your hands up in its face.

A well-trained and socialized bird will WANT to step-up because it will desire your company. However, a bird doesn't automatically desire human company (unlike a dog) so you have to teach it tameness and give it reasons to think that socializing with you is fun.

i tried using that clicker condition n target conditioning with him too, but he soon lost interest...

You've had him a week, so you gave up way too fast. Taming and training your bird is a process, and takes time.

When you say he lost interest, there could be several reasons for this. Please explain what you mean, exactly?

For example, when just beginning, especially with a young bird, you need to keep training sessions short. 5 minutes max, maybe. If you push past that you'll lose the bird's attention span. Older birds and birds more used to training can (sometimes) be trained longer.

Maybe he wasn't motivated. A bird needs motivation. It's not going to touch a stick just because you want it to, it has to have a REASON and that reason is food. It may have been that the treat you were offering wasn't "worth it" so the bird became disinterested.

Re-read Michael's Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - The Complete Step by Step Guide for Beginners. It covers really important things like establishing training motivation.

now i used another approach, just when i knew he was hungry, kept his food at a small distance in the air, so that he wud eventually have to come to my finger to reach there (as he cant fly, wings were clipped by the pet shop owner), n he obliged....i put him back again n tried doing the same without food, n he didnt budge at all...

This is called "luring"---you show the bird a treat and you lure it to you with the treat. The downside to luring is what you have already discovered: the bird will refuse to do the trick unless it sees the treat first.

This is why you don't want to use luring. You want to use a clicker and targeting instead. The bird knows that a click means a treat is coming, and you can keep the treats out of sight and the bird will not refuse to participate because it doesn't see treat.

am i being impatient...or what?

Yes.

You're also expecting too much from a young bird that is in a brand-new environment. A parrot is not domesticated and is a wild animal so you have to teach it how to be tame, how to live with humans... You have to develop a relationship and trust with it slowly, over time, just like you would with another person.

my second issue is when should i clip his nails?? they seem quite large to me, today i just tried clipping one of his nail, he gave a loud cry...

Only someone who is experienced in bird anatomy (a vet or someone who has owned birds long enough to know their anatomy) should clip a bird's nails. There is a blood vessel that runs through the nail and if you clip it too short the bird could bleed to death.



The only reason to trim a bird's nails if is they are overgrown, and I have a hard time believing that your baby CAG has overgrown nails. You can tell if a nail has grown too long by placing your bird on a flat surface. If their toe touches the surface, the nail is not too long. If their toe is not touching the surface because the nail is so long it's pushing the toe up, it needs a trim.

The nail on the left is overgrown, the nail on the right is not.



Maybe one day this is something you could do yourself but only after your bird is very tame, is used to being handled with a towel, etc. Even then you have to know exactly where to clip and at what angle otherwise the bird will bleed and you will really hurt (and possibly kill) the bird. Leave this to a vet.

Sorry for the long post but you had a lot of questions and I wanted to address the ones I could. I know other people will come along and have different suggestions for you as well, especially people here who own CAGs (I do not own a CAG). This forum is a great place to learn about birds, and so is Michael's blog and YouTube channel. You're doing the right thing by asking questions and educating yourself and that is great.

[aasiaafzal]

wow, that was a quick reply, n i really appreciate the time u have taken to guide me in the matter...!!!thanx a lot:)

n i agree with u on most of the things..!! i guess im just being impatient...i have always wanted to get an african grey...but i never actually knew abt his temperament, n bhv issues...just that one day, i got the oppurtunity of getting one, n didnt want to miss that...n bought it...after that, i started doing some extensive research work on CAGs, n realized, that i have chosen one of the most difficult parrots, n that too as my first one...!!
But anyhow, im determined to learn,..!! what i have experienced with jazz so far, is that he didnt give me much hard time at all, compared to what i have read on many forums...he accepted the change quite remarkably..he wud get an offensive stance initially, but even then he wud calm soon, n wud let me stroke him.,n he immediately starting taking food from my hands..!!so considering that, im quite hopeful...he was on seed diet at the pet shop, so im continuing that one currently..i plan to slowly switch him over to pellets..anyhow, thats a long term plan,/..!!

coming to the point...

You need to slow waaaaaaaaaay down. You are pushing your bird too far, too fast

the only reason i tried to move fast was that i read somewhere, that i should not let my parrot learn negative habits..in the initial few 3-4 days in which he was getting accustomed to the surroundings, i didnt intervene at all, (which means that i didnt try to hold him on my finger or get very close to him).,after that i realized that if i dont try, he might not let me do that at all,... just keeping this in my mind, i made an effort, to get him on my finger atleast once a day, using any possible method...sometimes, gentle coaxing, n sometimes luring as u mentioned..

Maybe he wasn't motivated. A bird needs motivation. It's not going to touch a stick just because you want it to, it has to have a REASON and that reason is food. It may have been that the treat you were offering wasn't "worth it" so the bird became disinterested.

regarding the actual cause why i failed my clicker n target conditioning, i think, is that jazz is on seed, n fresh fruit n veggies diet...he only eats one specific kind of seeds, n barely touches others, so if i remove those seeds from his normal diet, to be used as treats, i feel he would go hungry...so i thought may be until the time i get pellets for him, i should stop the training.....!! (what i perceived from that Michael's article was that the treats shouldn't be given at times other than training if u want to get good results, n as i cant withdraw his fav seeds, i stopped the training altogether)

anyhow, when u said, i should not assert dominance over a parrot, i get the message...but then what should i do...from where should i start...? considering i cannot go for the clicker conditioning at the moment.

After seeing the diagrams, im even more convinced his nails are getting longer n need to be trimmed...and as u suggested, ill get him to the vet for that...
Thanx again
Rgards,

[Andromeda]

i guess im just being impatient...i have always wanted to get an african grey...but i never actually knew abt his temperament, n bhv issues...just that one day, i got the oppurtunity of getting one, n didnt want to miss that...n bought it...after that, i started doing some extensive research work on CAGs, n realized, that i have chosen one of the most difficult parrots, n that too as my first one...!!

I've been to several bird rescue centers and it's African Greys and cockatoos that end up there more than any other bird. Conures are a close third.

The thing about Greys is that they are fascinating since they are so intelligent and they can imitate speech so well and people just get enamored with them and buy one on a whim without realizing how difficult they can be (when handled improperly) and then they give up out of frustration when the bird starts having behavioral problems and the bird ends up in a rescue center.

But anyhow, im determined to learn,..!!

That is what's so great and I'm really glad to know that even though you now realize you made an impulsive decision you're still committed to the bird.

he wud get an offensive stance initially, but even then he wud calm soon, n wud let me stroke him.,n he immediately starting taking food from my hands..!!so considering that, im quite hopeful...

It's a good sign that he lets you pet him and will take food from your hands. Always make sure that you are reinforcing calm behavior so if he's defensive/aggressive just back off, wait until he's calm, and try again. If you are patient and reinforce calmness he will begin to associate being calm with nice things (petting and treats from your hands) and that's a first step to a well-behaved parrot.

he was on seed diet at the pet shop, so im continuing that one currently..i plan to slowly switch him over to pellets..anyhow, thats a long term plan,/..!!

How long term? Since he's young and is growing and developing he should have as healthy a diet as possible.

Think of it this way: if a child was used to eating only cookies and cake would you say, "Well, in the long term, when he's older and grown up, I'll switch him over to fruits and vegetables." Doubtful, since a growing child needs the best nutrients for its developing body!

Switching a parrot's diet takes time and is stressful to the parrot but you want to do it sooner rather than later, especially if the bird is young. I don't mean just give him seed today and take it away and give him pellets tomorrow, but I mean it's a switch you want to try to make ASAP.

the only reason i tried to move fast was that i read somewhere, that i should not let my parrot learn negative habits..

Very true, but a habit is something that takes time to develop. Pushing your bird to do things too quickly or continuously pushing the bird to do things that make it uncomfortable or confused is exactly how negative habits---especially biting and aggression---happen in the first place.

in the initial few 3-4 days in which he was getting accustomed to the surroundings, i didnt intervene at all, (which means that i didnt try to hold him on my finger or get very close to him).

That was the right thing to do.

after that i realized that if i dont try, he might not let me do that at all,...

Birds are not domesticated and since they are wild animals taming is a process that takes time. You have to go at the bird's pace, not your own.

just keeping this in my mind, i made an effort, to get him on my finger atleast once a day, using any possible method...sometimes, gentle coaxing, n sometimes luring as u mentioned..

It's good that you're making an effort to interact with him, but think of every single interaction with your bird as a "training session." What I mean is that even if you're not "officially" training him, you're still teaching him something by the way you treat him. If you're forcing your bird to do things with your hands that makes it afraid or uncomfortable, you're basically teaching it that hands do bad things and hands are scary.

Over time this will cause one of two things: if the bird is flighted, it will learn to fly away from hands. If the bird is clipped (like yours) flight is not an option so it will learn to bite hands. Once a biting habit is learned it's almost impossible to eliminate.

regarding the actual cause why i failed my clicker n target conditioning, i think, is that jazz is on seed, n fresh fruit n veggies diet...he only eats one specific kind of seeds, n barely touches others,

Do you know what kind of seed it is? If his diet basically consists of just one type of seed, he's going to end up malnourished. This is even more reason to switch him to pellets.

so if i remove those seeds from his normal diet, to be used as treats, i feel he would go hungry...

Yeah, you definitely don't want your bird going hungry and you don't want to remove the only thing that it's eating.

so i thought may be until the time i get pellets for him, i should stop the training.....!! (what i perceived from that Michael's article was that the treats shouldn't be given at times other than training if u want to get good results, n as i cant withdraw his fav seeds, i stopped the training altogether)

I mean if he's honestly only eating one seed and isn't touching anything else that is a major problem health-wise. Usually even in a seed diet you can take out the one they like the most and they will still eat at least some of the other things.

anyhow, when u said, i should not assert dominance over a parrot, i get the message...but then what should i do...from where should i start...? considering i cannot go for the clicker conditioning at the moment.

As far as training motivation goes, it's not just about a treat but it's also about hunger. If a bird is full it's not going to be motivated to train, even if you present it with a treat. Let's say that you love cake, but you just ate two whole pizzas and you're stuffed, and someone says, "I'll give you a piece of cake if you do a cartwheel!" You're not really going to be motivated by that cake because you're so full.

With adult birds you can withhold food for a period of time (a few hours) in order to establish a little bit of hunger (motivation) but with a young bird you don't really want to be depriving it of food, so instead maybe you could try this: is it possible for you to have a short training session with him in the morning before he gets his seed? He'll be hungry then and will be interested in food and you can give his favorite seed as a treat for targeting. Then after you've done target training with him for, say, 5 minutes you can give him his food.

I bet you can train with him in the morning when he's hungry, and even if you only do this once a day for 5 minutes if you do it consistently you can target train him, and then move on to using targeting to get him to step up onto your hand. It might take a week, it might take a month, but it will work.

[aasiaafzal]

Thanx a lot for your step by step analysis really appreciate it...!! though you have really scared me, by mentioning the bird rescue centers...!! Anyhow there is no going back now...i have purchased a CAG, n ill try to do my best...lets c...
coming to the point, yes he is partial towards sunflower seeds,n leaves the rest..only rarely he takes some corns,...i try to supplement him with fruits n vegetables..he likes grapes a lot, sometimes also eats pear n apricot...!

Actually i live in qatar, n here its almost impossible to find some parrot accessories shops..n roudybush is also not supplying... delivery is way too expensive..so im depending on some of my friends, who will bring these pellets for me, so hopefully in a month or so, ill get them delivered..n will then start the switching., as well as the training..!!

will try to follow rest of ur advice..., n will keep u updated on how things are working out:)

[Andromeda]

Thanx a lot for your step by step analysis really appreciate it...!!

You're welcome, hopefully it's helpful to you and Jazz.

though you have really scared me, by mentioning the bird rescue centers...!! Anyhow there is no going back now...i have purchased a CAG, n ill try to do my best...

I wasn't trying to scare you, but just give you insight on the reality of owning a CAG. The truth is that CAGs can and do make amazing companion animals---they are so incredibly smart!

Have you ever heard of Alex the African Grey? Here is a video of Alex and his trainer/researcher Dr. Pepperberg (Alex died unexpectedly in 2007).

Greys are very neurotic, and because they are so very smart they can easily become bored and that can lead to behavioral problems.

The reason why CAGs end up in rescues so often is that people just buy them, have no idea how to raise them, and then a few years down the line they have a bird that is biting, screaming, or plucking---and the only reason the bird has these problems is because it was not handled properly or not cared for properly. Then, instead of doing research to try to see if they can help their bird, they just say, "Well this is too difficult" and give it to a shelter.

Your bird is young. It doesn't have any behavioral problems or negative habits yet because it hasn't learned those things from being treated poorly. You are clearly responsible and dedicated to your bird and the good news is that if you do the right things with your bird now, it probably won't have problems down the line and will make a wonderful pet.

coming to the point, yes he is partial towards sunflower seeds,n leaves the rest..only rarely he takes some corns,...

When you said he was eating only one seed I was sure it was sunflower seeds (birds love them) but wanted to make sure. Sunflower seeds are very high in fat. They should only be given as a treat. Have you tried removing them all in the morning and giving him his food and seeing if he'll eat something else? Just a thought.

i try to supplement him with fruits n vegetables..he likes grapes a lot, sometimes also eats pear n apricot...!

That's great! Fruit has a lot of sugar so it should also be fed in moderation but for a bird that's only eating sunflower seeds it's important he's eating something else so if he's eating some fruit, that's great.

Maybe if he likes grapes you could try using that as a treat for clicker training.

You can try dried fruit, too. For example, my brown headed parrot won't eat fresh banana but banana chips are his favorite treat!

Try lots of different foods, but make sure they are safe. Here's a list of Safe & Toxic Foods.

Actually i live in qatar, n here its almost impossible to find some parrot accessories shops..n roudybush is also not supplying... delivery is way too expensive..so im depending on some of my friends, who will bring these pellets for me, so hopefully in a month or so, ill get them delivered..

I've seen at least one other member here from Qatar. I think it's great that people come to Michael's forums from around the world to help share information to make their birds' lives better!

You say there's not a lot of parrot shops. Any bird, but especially CAGs, needs lots of toys or else they get bored and it can lead to feather plucking down the line. If you can find and buy parrot toys, great, but if not, there's lots of inexpensive things you can do instead.

For example, if you buy clothespins and remove the metal so you just have the wood, that's a great toy for a CAG to hold in its foot and destroy. If you can find plain brown rice cakes (with no sugar and no salt) you can give that to them and they will shred it to pieces.

Check out The Big Homemade Toy Idea Thread, there's some really great ideas in there!

n will then start the switching., as well as the training..!!

I definitely think that you could teach targeting and step-up before you make the switch. You just have to find a time to train when your bird is hungry, and in the morning before you give him his food is perfect.

Try this:

Day 1: You're going to teach him that when he hears a click, he gets a treat. This is called "charging the clicker." You can teach this with your bird inside the cage. Click, and then immediately give him a sunflower seed (or a piece of grape). As soon as he's finished eating it, click, and then give him a treat. Repeat this for five minutes and/or until he stops taking the treats from you. Then give him his food.

Day 2: Now he knows that click means treat, he'll want to "work" for clicks (as long as he's motivated, meaning hungry). You can teach this with him inside the cage. Take the target stick, place it near his beak, and the instant he touches it with any part of his beak, click, take the stick away, and give him a treat. Repeat this for five minutes and/or until he stops taking the treats from you. Then give him his food.

Day 3: If he'll touch the stick every time you put it near his beak, put the stick a little bit further away and see if he'll lean over to touch it. If he won't lean, go back to what you were doing on day 2.

Once he will target the stick every time it's just a matter of getting him to go further and further for the stick. Go at his pace, but once he will do something 100% of the time, push him a little bit more. First see if he'll lean to touch the stick. Once he will lean to touch it, move it so he has to take one step to touch it. Once he'll take one step, make him take two, etc.

After a few days or maybe a week you'll be able to target him all over the cage. Make him climb up and down to touch the stick. Once he'll do that you can slowly use the targeting stick to teach him to step up onto your hand.

A few tips: you always want to click the exact moment the bird does the behavior, not before or after. Make sure the treats are small so that he can eat them within a few seconds. If you're using grapes cut them into small pieces instead of giving a whole grape. If you give big treats the bird will get full and lose interest faster.

will try to follow rest of ur advice..., n will keep u updated on how things are working out:)

Definitely give updates, I can't wait to hear how things are going with you and Jazz! I'm so excited that you want to learn all that you can and work with your bird to make sure it's tame and well-behaved!

One last thing: CAGs are prone to feather plucking for psychological reasons. If your CAGs is flighted and knows how to fly (this is something that you can teach it when it has flight feathers) it is less prone to plucking. I know your CAG is clipped now but you should consider flight. Michael has a wonderful article about the benefits of keeping a flighted bird vs. a clipped bird: How to Properly Clip a Parrot's Wings (Don't Clip at All).

[aasiaafzal]

wow....i love u sooo much, for taking this much time to guide me...it might not be a big deal for u, but for a new person like me,...it could mean a lot....e.g i thought that as he likes sunflower seeds so much, next time ill not bring the rest of seeds, but the sunflower seeds only...without realizing the problem i could have faced...!! so just letting u know that i appreciate ur help, n will need a lot more...in the coming few months...!!
yeah i was also resorting to the home made toys...have been giving him, sticks n balls to shred...he loves to do that...will check out this thread for other useful ideas...

n if u come across that other person from qatar again, do lemme know...he/she might know some places that sell these items..!!

and personally i like flighted birds, n i dont plan on clipping his feathers anymore..the only thing that worries me is that how early will he start flying? if he starts too early, n he is still not very much attached to me, then handling him wud be a problem....do u have any idea how long birds take to get their feathers again?...currently, he tries to flap his wings, n will take short flights, from cage to carpet, cant maintain the height...just kinda crashes on the carpet....

anyhow, u have got me thrilled again about clicker conditioning n target training..will start again...will let u know how it goes..!!

[pennyandrocky]

sounds to me like he's working his flight muscles already mya started this right around the same time her flights were coming in, somehow she just knew. you want to get your house safe for flight take him to all windows tap the glass and let him touch so he knows he can't fly through.set up places for him to safely land like perches or even blankets/ curtains on walls where you plan on letting him practice he's most likely going to crash depending on how long he's been denied flight it shouldn't take long for him to figure it out.mya's proudest moment was her first crash free landing.

[Andromeda]

wow....i love u sooo much, for taking this much time to guide me...it might not be a big deal for u, but for a new person like me,...it could mean a lot....

Well my posts are really long so I appreciate that you read it all. I really, really love birds and have owned them for a long time, have read lots of books about companion parrots, parrot behavior, books on clicker training, etc. and I love to share what I've learned over the years because I want pet birds to have a good life and a good relationship with their owners.

When I had my first bird as a child in the 80s my family and I had zero clue what to do, fed her seeds, kept her clipped, etc. I mean we loved her and give her lots of attention, took her outside for sunlight and fresh air, but we did lots of things wrong, too. I've learned a lot since then so I like to share what I know.

e.g i thought that as he likes sunflower seeds so much, next time ill not bring the rest of seeds, but the sunflower seeds only...without realizing the problem i could have faced...!!

I can see how you would think that. It would be really bad for your bird to just be eating sunflower seeds, they are so fattening. I actually had an idea today about getting your bird to eat some veggies. I've done this with my birds (and so have lots of other people): make some cornbread and "sneak in" some veggies.

This is a recipe I found online and I have used it for my birds and they love it:

1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat flour if you can find it)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup applesauce (no sugar added)
1 egg
2 jars baby food (carrots, sweet potatoes, green peas, green beans or squash)
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

Mix all ingredients together (if it's too thick add a little water) and pour into a greased 8" X 8" baking dish (glass NOT non-stick or Teflon/PTFE-coated as that is POISONOUS to birds). Bake at 400F degrees for about 20 minutes.

As a note, for the baby food I like to choose one orange vegetable (because they are rich in Vitamin A) and then either the peas, green beans, or squash as the second.

Cut the bread into small squares and freeze it, then you can just defrost however much you need per day and give it to your bird. If he'll eat it (and I bet he will) that's way healthier than seeds and you can give that to him along with fruit while you are waiting for your pellets.

The less sunflower seeds he eats, the better.

so just letting u know that i appreciate ur help, n will need a lot more...in the coming few months...!!

Well you have found the right forum because the people here are very knowledgeable and helpful! I don't know how much you've read of Michael's blog but his posts are super detailed and he has videos, too, and it's everything you could ever need to know about owning parrots.

and personally i like flighted birds, n i dont plan on clipping his feathers anymore..the only thing that worries me is that how early will he start flying? if he starts too early, n he is still not very much attached to me, then handling him wud be a problem....

I can see how you would think handling a flighted bird would be a problem but actually that shouldn't be the case. If you work on tameness with him now he will want to be around you and by the time his flight feathers grow back.

If he does fly away from you it only means that you pushed him too far for some reason and flying in that case is a good thing because a clipped bird would bite instead. You don't want a biting CAG.

do u have any idea how long birds take to get their feathers again?

Birds only grow new feathers during a molt, and they only molt once or twice a year. If he is 6 - 8 months old he has not had a molt yet and probably will not have one until 1 yr. - 1 1/2 yrs. old so it will be months before his primaries regrow. This is what I mean when I say handling won't be a problem once he his flighted as long as you are patient and work with him every day.

...currently, he tries to flap his wings, n will take short flights, from cage to carpet, cant maintain the height...just kinda crashes on the carpet....

Is he flying on his own because he wants to or is he doing it because he's scared of something and/or trying to get away from you when you handle him?

anyhow, u have got me thrilled again about clicker conditioning n target training..will start again...will let u know how it goes..!!

Great to hear! I think you were just trying to train your bird when it wasn't hungry. A full bird is not interested in training. Let us all know how it's going and if you have any more questions please ask.

[aasiaafzal]

Ahan gr8...btw in this recipe can i replace corn meal with something..its difficult to get here....only corn flour is available here....i tried searching for corn meal once, when i was making corn meal cookies...(for humans ..lol)
n here is a gr8 news...i tried doing clicker conditioning n target conditioning...., n only in 2 days, i was able to get him follow the stick over a distance of abt a feet//..thats kinda fast i thought...n he even stepped on my arm twice, ..so not bad:)

n yes he is try to fly on his own....he remains open for most of the day, n usually he remains sitting peacefully, on the perch above his cage...feels safe there...sometimes he climbs up n down the cage.,but at one time in day, he kinda stretches his wings....flaps them a lot, n takes 1-2 short flights....landing or sometimes crashing quickly...btw im not exactly sure abt his age..the person at the shop told me roughly 6 to 8 months..then i googled it, n it says, if iris is dark grey, its close to 6 months, if light grey its 1 yr...n if straw coloured 1 n a half to 2 yrs, n if yellowish, adult..so my parrot fits somewhere btw dark grey to light grey..so i thought maybe shopkeeper was right..

ill post some pics sometime...may be some of the experienced owners can have a look...
anyhow, ill try my best not to get him clipped again, if he starts flying....lets c